1970s Quote by Jane Fonda

Being critical of the nation is a far cry from being unpatriotic or anti-American. In fact, most social criticism . . . is based…

— Robert Reich

Nothing is more annoying in the ordinary intercourse of life than this irritable patriotism of the Americans. A foreigner will gladly agree to praise…

— Alexis de Tocqueville

“One of the prerogatives of American citizenship is the right to criticize public men and measures, and that means not only informed and responsible…

— 1944 Felix Frankfurter of the U.S. Supreme Court

...Americans...automatically equate dissension with disloyalty. They view any criticism of our existing social, economic, and political forms, as sedition and subversion. ...(" The growing…

— J. Paul Getty

I don't think the average American understands what patriotism truthfully is. That's why when I attack our country or attack the government, it's sometimes…

— Patti Smith

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism, are all too frequently those who . . . ignore some of the basic principles…

— Margaret Chase Smith

What is good about the United States is the sense that you can disagree with the government and not be seen as unpatriotic, although…

— George J. Mitchell

The American way is to criticize and debate openly, not to accept unthinkingly the doings of government officials of this or any other country.

— Michael Parenti

One of the most effective tools that the Cheney-Bush junta has used to marginalize dissenting or even mildly inquisitive American citizens has been the…

— Viggo Mortensen

To criticize one's country is to do it a service… Criticism, in short, is more than a right; it is an act of patriotism-a…

— J. William Fulbright

Americans should tremble before suggesting that any fellow citizen lacks patriotism.

— Barack Obama

There was a time when a willingness to criticize one's own government when it was wrong was the very definition of patriotism.

— Ron Paul